


Another Heart Whispers Back

by opalmatrix



Category: Saiyuki
Genre: Childhood, Female Friendship, Female Protagonist, Gen, Loneliness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-22
Updated: 2011-09-22
Packaged: 2017-10-23 22:44:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/255891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opalmatrix/pseuds/opalmatrix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not easy for Lirin to be her mother's daughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Heart Whispers Back

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Female Fest](http://female-fest.dreamwidth.org/) on Dreamwidth. Prompt - Lirin + Yaone, whispers. The title is from Plato: "Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back." Beta by **[lady_ganesh](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Ganesh)** and **[smillaraaq](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Smillaraaq/pseuds/Smillaraaq/)**

Houtou Castle was always full of whispers.

It might have been different if Mama was not so scary sometimes. Then maybe Fulei would still be here to take care of Lirin. And maybe Mama wouldn't have tried to send first Janli and then Shimu to be Lirin's maid. Except that Lirin knew, really, that they were supposed to keep track of her for Mama. Shimu, who was actually pretty nice, said that it was because Mama cared about Lirin. But that was hard to believe sometimes. If she really cared, why did she send Fulei away?

"You're too big for a nursemaid now, pet," Mama said.

But Fulei could have been Lirin's maid. She knew how to pick out clothes and do hair and even how to put on eyepaint. The year before she left, she got Lirin all dressed up for the New Year festival, and Mama had looked pleased. "You're growing up, pet," she had said.

And then that spring, Fulei was gone. No one seemed to know why, or at least they weren't going to talk to Lirin about it.

Lirin had very sharp ears.

 _"The Lady Gyokumen says that the nursemaid is becoming a problem,"_ was one whisper.

Another one was _"So you have to nursemaid that brat? Oh ... well, I guess that makes sense. Goodness knows what the prince is telling her."_

And then: _"If you can't do your duty, Shimu, you can go back to your village. I have no further use for you."_

So now Shimu was gone too. Lirin was bored and lonely, except when Kougaiji was around. She knew that Mama didn't like it when Lirin spent time with Kougaiji, but Mama had never really said that she shouldn't do it. Maybe Mama was hoping she would tell tales about Onii-chan, the way Mama wanted the maids to tell tales about Lirin.

 _As if I would!_

When Dokugakuji showed up, Lirin was jealous, even though she knew it was bad. She thought maybe Kougaiji would like Dokugakuji better than her liked her. But now it was almost like having two big brothers. In fact, sometimes Dokugakuji knew more about being a big brother than Kou-nii did. He was very tall, and he could toss her halfway to the ceiling. And he would throw her so she could learn to roll and stand right up, like Onii-chan could.

But Dokugakuji was away almost as much as Onii-chan. And Lirin was still lonely.

One evening, there were even more whispers than usual floating around the cold stone corridors.

 _"He brought home another stray, did he?"_

 _"Bought and paid for, from what I heard."_

 _"A real country bumpkin ... some little town way to the east."_

 _"Well, she was pretty enough for the Centipede King!"_

Lirin almost bumped her head on the bottom of the table she was under. _Onii-chan brought back a **girl**?_

Mama wouldn't like that. Mama had never liked it when Kougaiji cared about anyone, but it was worse with girls. Any girl he said more than ten words to, Mama sent away,

 _"She's a pharmacist's daughter. She's going to work as his alchemist."_

 _"Oh. Well, that's useful. Maybe she knows some remedies for ... ."_

The voices faded as the maids left the room. Lirin crept out from under the table a few minutes later and ran down the corridor, up a flight of stairs, down another corridor, and pounded on her brother's door. "Onii-chan!"

Dokugakuji opened the door. "Shhh, kid! What's the fuss about?"

"Let me in! I wanna talk to Onii-chan!"

"I'm right here" said Kougaiji, from behind him. Dokugakuji stepped aside and let her in, then shut the door again. "What's the matter?" asked her brother.

"Did you really bring home a girl?"

The two men exchanged glances. Dokugakuji looked like he thought she was funny, but Kou-nii-chan looked a little worried. "Yes, I did bring home a young lady," he said. "She's going to work for me. She's very clever and knows about medicines."

"That's all?"

"That's all." Onii-chan was worried and confused now. Dokugakuji looked at her for a moment and then snorted.

"She thought maybe you went out shopping for a better sister, Kou."

Lirin kicked at him, because he was a rude beast. Dokugakuji sidestepped without any trouble at all. It wasn't fair that he should be so big and so fast too. Onii-chan grabbed her and gave her a big hug, which he hardly ever did. "You are my only sister. Please do not worry about that, Lirin-chan."

Lirin leaned against him. "Why didn't I see her? Can't I meet her?"

"She's all tired out," said Dokugakuji. "She went to bed."

"It's too early for a grown-up lady to be in bed."

Kougaiji patted her back and let her go. "But that's where she is, Lirin. I promise you can meet her tomorrow. Isn't it time for you to go to bed too?"

She scowled. "Don't make that face, baby girl, it'll stick that way," said Dokugakuji. "Want me to give you a piggyback to your room?"

"I'm not a baby," she said, crossly, but she climbed up on his back anyway. He was warm and comforting to lean on. The long walk from Onii-chan's rooms to her own went by much too quickly.

"Goodnight, Princess," he said, as he put her down, and bowed a fancy bow like one of Mama's courtiers. "Goodnight, you big ape," she answered, and went into her quarters.

She had a little parlor, with an old but very beautiful rug and some old furniture that Mama didn't like anymore. Some of it was pretty. It would be nicer if someone else was there, once in a while. She looked away from the alcove where Fulei used to sleep and went into her bedroom to put on her pajamas. One of the maids put fresh ones there everyday, and she got to pick out the rest of her clothes from the wardrobe herself.

She wished Fulei was still telling her what to wear, even if some of Fulei's ideas were stupid, like that pink dress with the squirrels embroidered on it.

Lirin sat on her bed and looked around the room. Onii-chan had given her the little writing desk, but the toy dog from Dokugakuji was hidden in the pillows on the bed, in case Mama decided she was too old for toys. Mama had given her the big jewelry box, full of jewels that Mama didn't want. Lirin never wore any of them: she thought maybe some of them really belonged to Onii-chan's mother. The hairbrush and her green dressing gown and a lot of the hair ties in the little box were from Fulei. And then she wondered what the new lady's room was like.

She put on her dressing gown and her new blue slippers, because it was getting chilly in the stone castle, and went back out into the hall. Everything was very quiet. She walked back toward Onii-chan's apartment. She knew that Dokugakuji's room was right nearby, and that's probably where the new lady's room would be too, so that none of Mama's people would bother her.

Most of the lamps had been put out. There was one burning outside Onii-chan's door, between his rooms and Dokugakuji's - and there was another one lit farther down the hall.

 _That must be where she is._

This part of Houtou was all very old. Lirin tried the door latch, and it lifted. She leaned on the door, and it swung inward.

It was very dark in the room, but Lirin could hear someone breathing. She couldn't really see anything. _This was a stupid idea! She's a grown-up, she wouldn't have a night light!_

But it smelled nice in here: like clean bedding, and fresh flowers, and water.

Then Lirin heard a gasp. "Who's there?" said a soft, frightened voice, and Lirin felt really bad.

"It's just me," she said. "I'm real sorry! I didn't want to wake you up."

There was a soft scuffling sound, and a little lamp was lit across the room. It was not a very large room. There was a writing table with a chair, a small wardrobe, and a curtained bed, like Lirin's, but with draperies of a soft, faded gold. Next to the bed was a little table with the lamp and a carved box, and in the bed was a thin youkai woman with dark eyes and dark hair in plaits and a worried expression on her thin, pointed face.

They stared at each other for a moment, and then the woman said slowly, "You must be Prince Kougaiji's sister." She got out of bed and started to kneel on the cold floor. No!" cried Lirin, before she remembered that she should be quiet. "You don't need to do that!" she added, softly.

"But aren't you -"

"Kougaiji is my brother, and he's the prince. But no one has to kneel to me. And I don't like it anyway. And I bet the floor is real cold."

"It _is_ cold in here." The woman had her arms wrapped around herself. She was wearing a short, plain gown with no sleeves.

"Why don't you get back in bed?" suggested Lirin.

"Isn't your nurse going to be looking for you?" asked the woman, sitting down on the bed.

Lirin stiffened. "I don't have a nurse. I'm too old to need a nurse."

The woman studied her face. It should have felt uncomfortable, but it didn't. Maybe it was because the lady looked like she knew what Lirin was feeling. "Is anyone else looking after you?"

"Mama tried to get a couple of her maids to mind me, but I didn't like that. They were nosy."

The woman nodded slowly, as though she were figuring something out. "My name is Yaone."

"I'm Lirin. I bet Onii-chan told you that."

"Yes, he did. Lady Lirin, are you cold too?"

"I have my robe and my slippers. And you don't have to call 'me 'Lady.'" But it did look cozy in the bed with Yaone. Fulei used to let Lirin sleep with her when Lirin had bad dreams. She hadn't known she'd missed it. "I'll tell Onii-chan that you need a brazier for this room."

"That would be good," agreed Yaone. She pulled her legs up into the bed and drew her quilts over them, but she stayed sitting up against her cushions.

"Do you want to go to sleep again?" asked Lirin, trying to be polite. She hoped not; it was nice talking to Yaone.

"I'm awake now," said Yaone. "Won't you sit down?"

Lirin grinned. "OK!" She sat on the bed next to Yaone. "How did Onii-chan find you?"

Yaone looked worried again. "It's not a very happy story, Lady Lirin. Maybe some other time. Why don't you tell me about your family?"

Now it was Lirin's turn to feel like holding her tongue. She looked at her lap. "You met my brother. My mother is Lady Gyokumen Koushou. Onii-chan's father was the same as my father."

"The Ox King," said Yaone, quietly.

"Yeah."

They looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes. Lirin didn't want to go back to her room, but she couldn't think of what to say to Yaone either. She wished she knew what Onii-chan had told Yaone about Mama.

A warm, slim hand patted Lirin gently on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I know - shall I tell you a story?"

No one had told Lirin any stories for ages, unless you wanted to count the short, funny tales Dokugakuji sometimes told her about things he'd done when he was little. "What kind of a story?"

"Do you know the story of Little Red, who was rescued from a cruel fate by her little brother?"

"No, I don't. Tell me!"

Yaone pulled back the covers. "Why don't you lie down and get comfy?"

"OK." Lirin kicked off her slippers and lay down. Yaone covered her up and then lay back on the pillows, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Well, let's see ... once there was a poor woman, a widow, who lived in the mountains with her little girl. The little girl liked to wear red clothes, and so everyone called her Little Red. One day, when Little Red was helping her mother in the fields, a huge gust of wind came up and a dragon swooped down and carried Little Red away, far, far to the West. The poor mother screamed and cried, but there was nothing she could do. Then she heard her daughter's voice faintly on the wind: 'Mother, mother, dear as can be - my little brother will rescue me.' The mother was bewildered. 'I have no son,' she cried. 'Who can this brother be?'"

Yaone had a nice voice, thought Lirin, closing her eyes.

"The poor mother trudged home," continued Yaone. "On the way back to her little house, her hair became tangled in the branches of a bayberry tree. As she was untangling it, she saw a beautiful red berry growing on one of the branches. She felt she had to eat it. Then she hurried home, and to her surprise, she gave birth to a lovely little baby boy."

Lirin laughed. "That's not how babies come!"

"No," agreed Yaone. "It must have been magic. Perhaps a god felt sorry for Little Red's poor mother. And certainly this was not a normal baby boy. His mother named him Little Bayberry, and he grew up very quickly. Why, in just a few days, he was a strapping youth who looked fourteen or fifteen years old. His mother wanted to tell him the story of his sister who was carried off by the dragon, but Little Bayberry was all she had now, and she didn't want him to be killed. But one day, a crow landed on their roof, and spoke to the brother. ''Your sister suffers in the West, out there! She's weeping in the dragon's lair! Bloody welts upon her back - she's digging stones with hands quite bare!'

"Little Bayberry was surprised, as well he might be. He asked his mother, 'Do I have a sister?' His mother wept and told him the whole story. Little Bayberry picked up a big, strong stick and said 'Do not weep any more, my mother. I'm going to rescue Little Red and kill the dragon.'"

Lirin could see it in her mind's eye. Little Bayberry had long, red hair and tawny skin, and a three-fingered _youkai_ mark on his cheek. Yaone's quilt was warm. "Did he rescue her?"

"You'll have to listen and find out. Bayberry set out. He walked for miles and miles. Soon he was walking along a mountain path, with a steep cliff above and a steep cliff below. Suddenly a huge stone blocked his path ... ."

The pictures in Lirin's head grew softer and darker, fainter and deeper. Of course Bayberry would rescue his sister. That's what brothers did.

The last thing Lirin remembered before she fell asleep was Yaone leaning over her and blowing out the lamp.

 

(The source for Yaone's story is [The Golden Reed Pipe](http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/211Traditions8865.html).)

 


End file.
